


In Another Life

by schwoopyboop



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, But Only a Little Bit - Freeform, Deviates From Canon, F/M, Feelings, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, OC has a name but reader can insert if they want, One Shot, POV First Person, headcanon sorta?, this is my first fic so be gentle pls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:28:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26256403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schwoopyboop/pseuds/schwoopyboop
Summary: "And for a moment, standing there together, it was as if the last few hours had never happened. For a few precious seconds, there wasn't a Helios crash or a vault to fight over—we were just two broken people who finally understood one another."Takes place in a headcanon of mine, where OC/Reader is the one who talks to Jack after the Helios crash instead of Rhys. A classic case of finding the right person at the wrong time.
Relationships: Handsome Jack (Borderlands)/Original Female Character(s), Handsome Jack (Borderlands)/Reader
Comments: 9
Kudos: 30





	In Another Life

"Jack..."

We stood facing each other among the rubble that used to be Helios: me, scratched up and worn out—he, a glowing blue figure with a raging fire in his eyes.

"I was _this_ close, dammit!" Jack stormed towards me, holding up his thumb and index finger in an almost-pinch. "I could've gotten us everything we ever _dreamed_ of wanting! I could have WON!

I looked up at the expression of hurt and betrayal on his masked face, and wished that I hadn't been the one who put it there.

"I'm sorry, Jack. I didn't want to have to stop you," I said in what I hoped was a steady voice. _I am not going to cry._

His expression turned even darker.

"Then why _did_ you?" He spat the words out at me.

My eyes widened incredulously. "Because you tried to kill everyone, Jack! Rhys, Fiona, even me and I—" I stopped myself before my voice could break. "You had a second chance at life and you blew it by doing the exact same thing you did when you were alive! Why are you obsessed getting back at the people who betrayed you? Why couldn't you have just let us be happy together? God, it's like you learned nothing after Angel— "

Jack raised an angry blue finger at me, glowering. "Don't. You. _Dare_. Speak to me about my daughter," he said in a low growl.

I glared back. "She would've been ashamed of you today. She would've helped us stop you again just like she did last time because you are exactly the same man she despised at the end of her life. And do you want to know the real reason you're so angry right now?" I took a step towards him. "It's because somewhere deep down, you know I'm right."

Jack's hands curled up into fists at his sides, and I knew in that moment that he wanted nothing more than to punch me in the face (no doubt he would have, if he'd had a physical body). Realizing that he couldn’t hurt me, he glowered at my small frame until, gradually, the flame that raged behind his eyes finally flickered out. A look of resignation took its place as Jack took several deep, shuddering breaths. His hands slowly unfurled. When he looked back at me, there was an unfamiliar openness in his face that I'd never seen before. He looked... vulnerable.

Jack sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Maybe you're right, Els. Maybe I deserved being betrayed by everyone I ever loved." He sounded tired.

"Jack, I— "

"And you know what's funny?" He interrupted. "Before all this, I was actually starting to really like you, princess."

I gave him a sad smile. "I really liked you, too."

And for a moment, standing there together, it was as if the last few hours had never happened. For a few precious seconds, there wasn't a Helios crash or a vault to fight over—we were just two broken people who finally understood one another.

The tender moment was broken by a sudden beeping noise and a flashing red light. It was the broken ECHO device Jack had transferred himself into shortly before the crash. Its battery was about to die, and with it, the last memory of Handsome Jack.

My eyes widened with alarm. "Jack, the ECHO—the battery's dying—we have to fix it or get you into another thing, I don't know—" I started rummaging around frantically for another device that could feasibly house an AI in the wreckage.

Jack was surprisingly blasé about the situation.

"Don't worry, pumpkin. Heroes never die, remember?" He joked, lounging in a burnt office chair while I continued my frantic search.

"What are you talking about? You could die, Jack, for real this time! I wanted to stop you from hurting anyone else, but I don't want you dead!" I could feel the panic set in as it became increasingly clear that there was no working tech nearby that survived the crash. I began digging through the wreckage in earnest, cutting my hands on jagged metal edges as I did.

"Hey. Ella."

I stopped what I was doing at the sound of my full name. Jack never called me that.

"You're not gonna find anything in time, sweetheart," he said softly.

I looked up at him, shaking my head. "But if I don't, I-I'll never see you again," I said, my voice faltering. I hated how pathetic I sounded.

Jack shrugged like it was no big deal, but I could see the exhaustion and resignation in his shoulders.

“Maybe I'll meet you in another life or something, I dunno. One where I’m not some monster. I’ve had enough of Pandora’s shit for a lifetime, anyway."

I glanced at the ECHO's dwindling light. "You can’t ask me to stand here and watch you die,” I said, swallowing hard. “It’s not fair.”

Jack snorted, giving me a sardonic half-smile. “Yeah, like I don’t know what’s unfair, cupcake. You think this is how I wanted to die? On _Pandora,_ surrounded by smoke and skag crap—?”

His speech was interrupted when his glowing blue image flickered out for a split second, cutting him off. When his body reappeared, Jack glanced down at his hands with a dawning realization as his image flickered again.

When he looked back up at me, it was with his old Handsome Jack charm. "I guess I’ll be seeing you in another life, kiddo," he said, a tightness in his voice. “Don’t go falling for other people while I’m gone, ‘kay?” He winked as his virtual body flickered again. 

I reached out to him. “Jack, wait—!"

And just as my hand reached his face, Handsome Jack blinked out of existence.

Stunned, I walked slowly over to the spot where he was just standing and sat down. I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

_He always had to have the last word. The bastard._

I gently picked up his broken ECHO off the ground and held it to my chest as the tears finally came.

"See you in another life, Jack."

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea for a story knocking around in my head for a while, so I had to get it out somewhere. Wrote this mainly for myself so I could stop thinking about it, but I hope someone out there enjoyed it! This is my first time posting a fic so pls be kind to my poor soul <3


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